Russia reiterates its position on Assad and says it is no obstacle for political settlement - Lavrov

SOCHI, October 11. /TASS/. Russia has reiterated its position of Syrian President Bashar Assad and stressed it is no obstacle for progress towards political settlement in that country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday after the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Defence Minister Muhammad Bin Salman Al Saud. "We know about Saudi Arabia’s position and our partners reiterated this position today. We reiterated ours, and you know it too," Lavrov told journalists when asked what the parties to the talks had said about Assad’s fate. "What is most important is that it is no obstacle for us to move jointly with other countries towards creating conditions for the soonest launch of a political process which is to ensure full-fledged participation of all the strata of Syrian society, all Syrian groups and which is to be crowned by intra-Syrian accord," he said, adding that such accor was to be supported by international community. He said today’s meeting could not resolve all the problems related to the Syrian settlement but it helped to see how to move towards settlement. "But I can say it confidently that after today’s talks we have a much clearer vision of how to move along the path of political settlement," he underscored. Read more